Namesake Draws Watson's Praise

By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY

Published: July 15, 2011

SANDWICH, England - In his 34th British Open, Tom Watson finally got to play with a namesake, and the namesake beat him - at least on Thursday - by seven strokes. ''Tom Lewis, how about that?'' Watson said. ''He could be my grandson.'' Lewis, the 20-year-old British amateur who has a share of the lead with Thomas Bjorn, is 41 years younger than Watson. He showed him plenty of deference before, during and after the first round. ''To play with Tom, no matter what I shot, was going to be excellent,'' Lewis said. ''I was more not wanting to embarrass myself in front of him.''

Lewis accomplished that and much more with his stunning 65. ''He's quite a refined player at age 20,'' Watson said. ''We certainly have a new young breed out here, don't we? We've got the McIlroys and the Ishikawas and the Lewises. We have a lot of young players playing very good golf.'' Unlike Rory McIlroy, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, and Ryo Ishikawa, the 19-year-old Japanese star, Lewis is not yet a professional, although he has been a full-time golfer since age 16.

Is the term amateur misleading today? ''Well, he's not professional yet,'' Watson said of Lewis, explaining that amateurs play a much heavier competitive schedule than they did in his generation. ''They play in a lot of competition, it teaches them how to play under the heat,'' Watson said. ''Once you learn how to play under the heat, you practice for it. You start to understand it, and you get used to it and that makes it easier and easier.'' Watson is now making it a habit of accompanying talented European amateurs at the British Open, which he has won five times. In 2009, the year Watson nearly won a sixth, he played the first two rounds at Turnberry with Matteo Manassero, then just 16, who ended up placing 13th. ''Both Matteo and Tom hit the ball where they were looking almost all the time, and their putting strokes were beautiful and aggressive,'' Watson said. ''I remember those aggressive putting strokes when I was 20.'' Watson said he could not remember playing with a player named for him. ''It's their dogs and their cats,'' he said of what his fans usually name in his honor.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.